Everywhere We Ate in Mexico City 2025 (Tacos, Bars, Coffee, & Street Food)

A Michelin starred taco stand, Maizajo is rarely without a line. We arrived around 4 PM but only had to wait about 15 minutes before we were seated at the counter.

Five tacos and two Coronitas later, we had finished our first bites in CDMX.

While a very solid start and not regrettable at all, I don’t think Maizajo lived up to the large hype it’s gotten online in recent years. I personally wouldn’t wait more than 15-20 minutes.

Once rated as a top 50 bar in the world, Hanky Panky is a well known speakeasy that’s grown popular with tourists. Definitely grab a reservation and show up a few minutes early, because Hanky Panky is technically a speakeasy with a semi-hidden entrance. You’ll likely do what we did and walk back and forth a few times looking confused before stumbling upon the entrance. Really all you have to do is look for the other gringos crowding around.

Once inside you’ll find a dimly lit and cozy bar with cocktails inspired from cities around the world. We each had two and enjoyed our first night in the city with some well mixed and thoughtful drinks.

We stumbled upon WO Coffee our first day in CDMX and ended up going back 2 more times. With a cute outdoor patio and my first taste of horchata cold brew, I was destined to love this place.

The “Woevos” en Pan Campesino was perfect way to start the day, filling but not too light. I’d recommend this to anyone in the area looking for an unfussy breakfast or brunch spot.

We grabbed a gordita from a street vendor while walking around Chapultepec Park. A gordita is thick, bread-like pancake that gets filled with nutella or a similar filling and pressed on a griddle.

You can find these all over the park but I wasn’t particularly satisfied with the flavor as it was a bit bland and dry, and wouldn’t buy it again, at least not without trying a different filling.

Located right next to our hotel, Amamba Cafe was the perfect place for an afternoon pick-me-up. The cold brew smoothie and green juice hit the spot we relaxed and read in the afternoons, unwinding from the morning’s activities.

Sorry I don’t have a photo of the smoothies, but trust me, they were beautiful 🙂

These arrachera tacos (skirt steak) were some of the best I had the whole trip, and were included on a food tour of Narvarte (highly recommend, here is the tour). Starting off with the garlic tostadas and some jamaica (pronounced ha-MY-kah) drink, it was hard not to continuously order more of these. Highly recommend if you’re in the neighborhood.

Since being featured on Netflix’s Taco Chronicles, El Vilsito has exploded in popularity, allowing the restaurant to double in size. It’s hard to miss the large al pastor spits rotating on the sidewalk, with thinly sliced pieces being cut and thrown onto tortillas right in front of you.

I first had these tacos in 2022 and had dreamt about going back ever since. Despite their increase in notority, El Vilsito has not dropped an inch in quality or speed.

Right down the street from El Vilsito is two instances of Tacos Tony — one is a proper business/storefront, and the other is a street vendor stall in the median of the road. Both are great, but we visited the street stall with standing tables meant for quick service.

Tacos Tony specializes in suadero tacos, with the beef brisket sizzling right in front of you. Paired with their fantastic salsas and some grilled Mexican green onions as a palate cleanser, their suadero tacos were the perfect way to end the night.

A historic and famous pasterlia in the middle of El Centro Historio, Pasteria Ideal is jam packed with every type of pastry you could desire, both sweet and savory. Donuts, muffins, breads, cakes, gelatins, danishes, the list goes on. Grab a tray, pick what you want, and bring your goods to be packaged up before paying. The best part? Most pastries are $0.50 USD, so grab what you like and indulge.

While our cream puff pastry was solid, I didn’t love how packed the space was. In Centro Historico on a Sunday there are pretty much wall-to-wall people everywhere, including in Pasteria Ideal, which made this a less than desireable experience for me. I’d recommend going on a weekday or off-peak hours, or simply being braver than me.

We walked into Mexa for an early dinner before our lucha libre match and found a beautiful atrium inside styled with Mexican tiles. The food and drinks were fantastic and the service was quick. I ordered the tuna tostada and Nick had an orange duck tamale.

One thing that stuck out — like at most restaurants, we ordered in our basic Spanish, which is by no means fantastic. When we got the bill, I was surprised to see a line item for $50 pesos titled “Americano“, which we had a good laugh about. We clearly weren’t blending in as much as we hoped…

But more seriously, in a place like Mexico City where tourism is exploding and conversations about over-tourism are on the tip of every tongue, I’m happy to pay a gringo tax if it means businesses can afford to pay their employees more, or more likely, afford to hire employees that may be fluent in multiple languages to better serve the tourism clientele.

Raku Cafe is a super cute Japanese cafe right near the popular tree-lined Durango Street. With only a few bar seats and tables, we did have to wait about 10 minutes for a seat, but what’s a 10 minute wait when you’re on vacation?

The katsu curry was warm and filling, and my omelette of the day was fluffy and light. Raku Cafe is a warm and cozy place to rest your feet and grab a drink or simple meal.

Casa de los Azulejos is located across the street from the Palacio de Bellas Artes, right at the start of El Centro Historico. It’s a popular destination for locals and tourists alike, as the outside is decorated with beautiful blue and white tiles, and the inside boasts a large atrium with murals.

We did have to wait about 25 minutes for lunch on a Sunday, but the restaurant is located within a Sanbors department store so there’s plenty to browse. The food itself was solid but nothing special. The biggest benefit was getting some respite from the craziness of El Centro Historico on a weekend day.

One tip — both of the meals we ordered were large enough to feed two, so I’d under order with that in mind. Also definitely get one of the fresh juices they bring around on a cart.

A simple, no frills breakfast spot, Doña Blanca Veracruz had a great location right next to Parque España, only a few minutes walk from our hotel. The basic hot coffee and chilaquiles was a welcome way to start the day.

One of my favorite dinners was at Paramo, a casual sit down restaurant in Roma Norte with 20+ taco styles on the menu. We each got three, with my favorite being the tacos arabes, which are an homage to Middle Eastern immigrants who came to Mexico City and brought with them shawarma on a spit. Inspired by the shawarma, Mexicans then created the al pastor spit we know and love today. Thank god for globalization.

Tacos arabes are served on a fluffy gyro bread with tzatiki sauce – I could have (and should have) eaten 10.

We were dropped off at Mayahuel after an amazing day visiting the ruins of Teotihuacan, and were riding that high. A perfect breeze, a polite mariachi band, a direct view of the Pyramid of the Sun, and a prix fixe 3 course meal, what could go wrong?

Funny you should ask. While the soup, enchiladas, and Mexican coke were amazing at the time, I’m 75% sure the lettuce on the enchilada gave me a mild bout of food poisoning later that night. To be honest though, everything else about this experience was so magical that I would still go back, I’d just be a bit more cautious with vegetables.

Los Danzantes was a nice respite in the middle of our day of exploring Coyoacán, most well known for being Frida Khalo’s home. Located right off of the central Plaza Jardin Hidalgo, the restaurant is a bit upscale for a lunch but had some really memorable sculpture pieces and murals inside.

We had a few orders of tacos and waters, with a street performer singing outside. Overall a pleasant albeit overpriced meal.

Imagine the thinnest slice, most tender sirloin you’ve ever had. Now imagine the cheese is melted right at your table and the tacos are only $3 and the beers are flowing.

El Remolkito is a super casual spot for some tacos and drinks and a great place to catch a game. It was a perfect last night meal for us and I’d go back in a heartbeat.